"Getting on he may be, but Nigel is still an entertaining interviewee, the wicked sense of humour he and brother Eric share clearly evident throughout" - Speedway Star

NIGEL BOOCOCK is one of the true legends of British speedway, an honest and wholehearted racer who approached every race of his illustrious career as if it was a World Final decider. Now the ever-popular Booey has teamed up with Retro Speedway to record his life story.

He takes us from his first hair-raising rides at Belle Vue in the mid-50s to his breakthrough as a youngster with his local team Bradford, followed by brief spells with Birmingham and Ipswich.

In 1959 he joined Coventry, where he quickly became a huge fans' favourite. In 18 years of loyal and devoted service to the Bees, the rider they called ‘Little Boy Blue' (because of his distinctive coloured leathers) established himself as one of England's all-time greats.

Ove Fundin, Barry Briggs, Igor Plechanov, Ronnie Moore and Bjorn Knutson were the men who dominated the 60s at world level but the Englishman who always made them work hardest for their success was Booey, the proudest national captain of all who always considered it a great honour to pull on the Lions racejacket at home and abroad.

They breed ‘em tough in West Yorkshire and despite suffering a number of nasty knocks, including a fractured skull in 1969, Booey would inevitably bounce back to recapture the No.1 spot in the Bees' team. It eventually took a great World Champion, three times title holder Ole Olsen, to finally displace him from the top at Coventry . . . but no-one has ever replaced Nigel Boocock in the hearts of the Brandon faithful. No wonder the stadium was packed for his richly deserved testimonial in 1975.

And he is still remembered with great affection, just as he was back then. Even after Nigel finally left the Midlands club in 1977, this tough, durable character went on to enjoy another four seasons as a rider for Bristol, Canterbury, Exeter and Swindon.

He retired from British racing at the end of 1980, aged 43, when he and his ever-devoted wife, Cynthia, emigrated to Australia, where he continued to play a key role in speedway as team manager and organiser of numerous British Lions tours.

In our face-to-race interviews recorded at his home near Brisbane, Booey reflects with our man Steve Magro on a remarkable career with the same transparent honesty that characterised his racing.

We also talk to Cynthia and two of the most important influences in his speedway career - former Coventry promoter, the late Charles Ochiltree, and Roy Adams, the man who served Nigel as mechanic and friend virtually throughout his time with the Bees. Those audio interviews were recorded 35 years ago but what the CO and Roy had to say about Booey then still resonates today.

There are nostalgic video clips of Nigel, including a great wheel-to-wheel battle with his younger brother Eric, with Booey senior demonstrating his typical all-action style and brotherly rivalry at its best.

We've also got evocative audio commentaries from Wally Loak, who captures the magic and thrills of two of Nigel's finest individual successes of the 60s - the Brandonapolis and Internationale. To cap a feast of Boocock nostalgia, both discs are liberally laced with hundreds of great still images of Nigel, many of them from his personal collection and previously unpublished.

HOW TO ORDERBy Phone:Call the Retro Speedway hotline on 01708 734 502 and pay with your debit/credit card.